


A Flip of the Coin

by LuciaWilt



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: At least not completely canon compliant, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Male Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, F/M, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prosthesis, Veterans, everyone is bi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-19 15:24:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14876334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuciaWilt/pseuds/LuciaWilt
Summary: Turning back to inspect the damage, she paused. “Well that’s unexpected.” Instead of red painting the wall, it was blue blood.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Connor, Hank, and Sumo snuck up behind me and stole my spine like Sub-Zero. I literally have no excuse.

It wasn’t even the loud noise that had woken her up at first. She could never sleep; or well, she hardly slept. Ever since she got back from Russia, things just got…hard for her. Her service dog Rosie helped, there was no getting around that. She loved that dog to bits and the dog was there for her when things got really rough. But there was only so much Rosie could do; and one of those things she could not do was provide her with a good nights sleep. So it was not surprising she had been lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling as she attempted to will herself to sleep. 

Even the sounds of the street below couldn’t lull her to sleep. And usually that helped tremendously. Perhaps it was something…something like the fact she had fought to keep those people safe. She fought to allow them that freedom of partying until 3 in the morning. So knowing that they were able to do what they wanted, it relaxed her enough to usually put her to sleep. Not that night though. That night, every little sound in her house had her on edge. She knew Rosie was milling about on the other side of her bed, but that’s what she usually did at 3 in the morning. It took a second to realize it was the air conditioning that woke her up. It was too cold; too much like the time she spent in Russia. Accepting the fact she wasn’t going to get any sleep, she stood and pulled on her socks she had took off beside her bed before she had attempted to fall asleep. 

Once steady enough, she walked across the room and exited out into the hallway where the thermostat was. In said darkened hallway, with only the light of the street outside to illuminate her way, she froze. Ah. There was definitely someone in her studio. They had been smart enough to not turn on the light, however they were blissfully unaware of her solider status. At this point in history, most of the people in her profession had to have trained their senses before being sent overseas. She could quite clearly hear their footsteps and the shuffling of art supplies down the hallway and through the door. So without a second thought, she turned back into her room; grabbing the Beretta 96 A1 she kept beneath her pillow at night. While it was a rudimentary gun in the eyes of most law enforcement organizations, including the one she used to be a part of, however she was comfortable with it so it was the one she kept with her.

Before leaving the room, she slipped on some tennis shoes, just in case things got a little messy and she had to be more mobile. Slowly she made her way back down the hallway, sticking close to the wall just in case there was another person somewhere in the house; even though she couldn’t hear anyone else. The intruder was still shuffling through something in her art studio when her heart tightened. There was the sound of her trunk opening and a breath released by the individual. Now she knew exactly what they were going for.

She quickened her steps before coming to the door. Thankfully they hadn’t noticed her presence yet; giving her the advantage as she kicked the center of the door and jumping in a tactical entrance. The person was still bathed in darkness, having not turned on the lights. She wouldn’t realize how strange that was until later, partially running on adrenaline as she aimed her gun in the darkness. The intruder jumped up, nearly dropping what they had been looking for; but grabbing it at the last second. For a moment they were at a standstill, “Drop it. You put it back and I’ll let you go. I won’t call the police.” Her voice was steady, not taking any shit from the person that thought it would be a good idea to break into her house. Though of course it was unlikely they knew of her history if it was just a simple break in.

The person was frozen for a few seconds longer before making a break for the window. She cursed, calling out another warning for them to stop or at the very least drop the item clutched in their hands. However they seemed to be adamant on escaping. So as they were about to jump through the window, she took her shot. The bullet ripped through the air and slammed into the persons shoulder. Yet it did not even slow them down. Blood splattered the bit of wall that separated the three windows in the bay area and the person was gone; having jumped through the window and into her backyard. At that point, she knew very well there was no reason in following after them. Instead, she just sighed, walking over to where the light switch was and flicking it on. Her plans for the next day were shot, having to now repair her window. First she would have to call the police. While nothing was stolen, it seemed like something did, report a crime.

Turning back to inspect the damage, she paused. “Well that’s unexpected.” Instead of red painting the wall, it was blue blood. She walked over, inspecting it; the way the blood splattered up. Presumably she caught the android right when they were jumping, and not when they were about to hit the glass of the window. She climbed up onto the window bench and looked out into the yard. More glass shards were scattered about in the grass, along with a splattering of blue blood. Well that explained why they had gone for her trunk. Turning back towards that, she didn’t touch the trunk but just looked in. They had stolen only one back, which she could only chalk up as a victory for her, though it did make her heart pinch. That android had been so bad off, or their owner had been so bad off, that they couldn’t afford blue blood. Now she felt bad for shooting them. They were only going to lose even more blood and… She had to stop. It was only going to make her more upset and probably cause her to not sleep even more. 

Rosie nudging her empty hand with the top of her furry head had her glancing down. “Yeah I know.” Good thing Rosie was there. “I’ll call the station.” So that’s exactly what she did. And thankfully it didn’t take too long before there were two cop cars parked out front of her house. Thankfully they had the right mind to turn their lights off before a crowd formed. While she had been waiting, right when the cars actually pulled up, her older neighbor question what had happened. They were kinder to Androids than most people, but she gave the man as few details as she could, just out of caution. There was no need to start a panic in her neighborhood when none was to be found in the first place. 

“So this is the room?” She had walked the first officer into her house before the other individuals could exit the second squad car. As to what reason she rushed, she really did not know. Once they all left she would just be lying in the dark on her bed again, staring up at the ceiling while Rosie paced the bedroom. Either way she nodded, the officer walking in to look around. She stood by the door, leaning on the wall and just staring at nothing. That seemed to distract her so much that she didn’t hear the other two officers walk into her house as well. Though it wasn’t just another officer.

“You are what? A painter now?” Gavin Reed’s voice echoed in the room. The detective stopped beside her while the other officer that presumably he brought along joined the first in the room. Glancing at the male from the corner of her eye, she turned and his face dropped. Obviously they hadn’t seen each other since before she went to Russia. When she got injured and had to be shipped back, all communication with pretty much everyone she knew stopped. The only person she really ever talked to was her sister and her mother. And considering they both still lived in Texas, those times were few and far between. Gavin was pretty low on the list of people she wanted to talk to; also pretty low on the list of people she wanted to explain her left eye and right arm to. Considering his view on androids, she was expecting the disgusted look he gave her. He wasn’t even able to see her arm considering she had covered it before the cops showed up. That was easier to do than her eye considering all she had to do was throw on a sweatshirt and gloves. 

“Yes Gavin. I paint now. Draw as well.” She turned away from him, thankfully avoiding his hand that reached out to grab at her arm. Instead of continue that conversation with him, she walked over and observed the two officers inspecting the window and the blood. She rubbed her face with both her hands as they took notes and Gavin walked over, looking as well. Already she knew what he was going to say, what he was going to assume. If anything, she could parrot his words to him before he even said them. Yet she just didn’t have the energy to do that. 

“What did the piece of plastic take?” He asked, using such language just to piss her off; she wasn’t stupid. It was especially apparent, what with the way he glanced at her with a insidiously smug look.

She turned to one of the officers taking notes. The young woman looked kind enough. “I was lying in my bedroom when I heard the noise in here,” It was a lie, a small one. It was better than telling them what she was really doing; wallowing in her miserable mind. “I told them to drop the item however they did not follow my command and headed to this window,” She nodded to the shattered glass lying on the window bench and the grass beyond it. “I took the shot and got them once, however they did not stop and jumped through the window before I could stop them. I didn’t know they were an android until I turned the lights on and saw that the blood was blue instead of red.” And it sounded horrible in the back of her mind, but she found it nice that it wouldn’t be too hard to clean up. That only made her stomach twist in guilt. Remember, they needed that blue blood container before they stole in. Now they REALLY need it, because of you no less. Sometimes she hated her own mind. 

“Ok. We are going to need you to come down to the station, make an official statement.” The woman told her and she just blinked, tilting her head to the side. Some of her hair that hadn’t made it up into the pony tail slid over the metal part covering the left side of her face.

“I thought that’s what you were doing.” Beside her, Gavin made a noise of annoyance which garnered a glare from her. But to her surprise he wasn’t directing his ire at her.

In fact it was Gavin that explained. “I’m not actually looking into deviants, which I expect this android was; even though theoretically it could have very well been following its masters orders. I just tagged along because I knew it was you.” He ended the sentence with a smirk that had her simply staring blankly at him before turning away. There was some discussion and a bit of laughter which she pleaded was at Gavin’s expense as she grabbed her shoes and her purse. When they all headed to the front door, she told Rosie that she would be back soon before locking up. Immediately Gavin slid up beside her. Whether he was trying to flirt or trying to bug her further about her eye, she couldn’t tell and didn’t want to find out. Before he could say anything she jumped into her own car and pulled out of the driveway; leaving him to blink in the darkness.

She got to the station before Gavin and the other officers which didn’t surprise her all that much. When she left she saw they spoke some before getting into their own cars. It gave her time to sit and think in the darkness of the parking lot. There was no need to get Gavin riled up further about androids. He already hated them and would only make it a bigger problem than it really was. She knew that if she gave him a colder shoulder than she was already giving him, that would be a problem as well. Copying her movements from earlier in the studio, she rubbed her face with both of her hands before getting out of the car, seeing that Gavin and the other two finally arrived. She checked her watch as she walked up to the front doors. 4 a.m., the station would have just opened. It would be quite a shock if anyone else was there. From what she could remember, most if not everyone didn’t show up until 6. It was actually kind of shocking that Gavin was there in the first place. 

Thankfully the female officer she first gave a statement to guided her in instead of Gavin. The detective made a beeline straight to his own desk presumably to do only god knew what, not that she really cared. Getting him off her back was preferable. That way he wouldn’t poke fun and get meaner than he already was being about her eye. She didn’t want to think about what he would say about her arm. The woman guided her over to an empty desk; both sides were empty actually, though one was noticeably used. There were little notes and papers scattered about, though no personal pictures and not even a name plate so she would know who she would be speaking to. She just shrugged her shoulders and thanked the woman as she sat down in the extra chair most people sat when giving statements. 

As she suspected, she would be waiting for quite some time. So she pulled her phone out and started making notes and labeling dates in her calendar. “Need to get blue blood.” It would be good if she got that today actually. While she was ok with that android taking it, it had been her last container. A stop at a CyberLife store would be in order later that day. Then she would need to swing by the art store. Not that the android stole any of her art supplies, it was more that she just needed more paint. Perhaps she would call Carl, see what he was working on. 

Her mind was working through a thousand things when a warm hand rested on her shoulder, breaking her out of her thoughts. She nearly reached for her gun but stopped when she remembered where she was. Instead she looked up and blinked, suddenly realizing who it was that she was looking at. “Hank Anderson. My goodness it is nice to see you.” She stood and hugged him, smelling the familiar twinge of alcohol all over his person. When she pulled away, there was a pause, something she had gotten used to over the years she had her eye. He stared at her and she couldn’t exactly blame him. The last time she saw him, she was just a little punk going through the force before moving onto crazy and wilder things. And the last time he saw her, she definitely had two eyes, definitely still had the left chunk of her head that was now currently missing.

Blessedly, Hank was as cautiously courteous of others as ever, not commenting on the eye as nodded and sat down, turning his chair so he was facing her. “So got a problem with your android? I seem to be the person to come to lately.” Which she found as ironic as ever. Even when she had been working with the police force for a period of time, he never used electronics when he didn’t have to. Hell, at that time he didn’t even have a personal cell phone. It made her wonder if he had ever gotten one instead of using the departments standard issued one all the time. But now wasn’t the time to catch up. She shrugged. 

“Don’t own an android. One broke into my house and stole some blue blood from me. I don’t know if it was deviant or not. Was about to not call the occurrence in actually, just thought it was what normal people did when they got robbed though; call the police that is.” Hank blinked at her, a little shocked and a little confused.

“Blue blood? An android? Wait. Start from the beginning. Why did you have blue blood in your house?”

Before she could answer his question, a breathy voice came from behind her. There was a rasp to it that she couldn’t quite place. And she didn’t even have to turn, the individual walked forwards and into her set of vision. “Her arm that I can only assume was produced by CyberLife is powered and or maintained with blue blood like all of CyberLife’s products.” He turned and she nodded in understanding. The LED on the side of his head was a dead give away as to his origins. He was definitely a handsome android, but all androids really were to her. Perhaps that’s why she had a thing for CyberLife, or at least was ok with them for the time being. They cranked out these model-esque androids. Hey, she was a human bisexual woman; it wasn’t out of the ordinary that she would enjoy looking at androids. 

This android was dressed sharply. He had smooth skin, akin to every other android out on the market right now. Maintained brown eyebrows framed equally brown eyes and a thick head of dark brown hair sat atop his head. A calculated messy twist of bangs was the only thing out of place on his body, resting softly on his forehead. He stared again and she had to hold back a laugh at the sound of Hank grunting in annoyance. Surprise of all surprises. The man that hated electronics the most out of anyone she ever knew, even her own mother, now had an android. That seemed completely bananas to her. Though Hank was one of the few people she deemed ok to have one in his company. While he didn’t like them, she knew he would never purposefully be unnecessarily violent to one. It just wasn’t in Hank’s nature, to lash out against androids. She knew the brunette standing, still staring and observing and collecting data about her, would be safe in Hank’s hands.

He seemed to be finished collecting said data when he spoke up again. “And she has a weapon on her person.” That got Hank’s attention, perhaps more than the comment on her arm.

When Hank put a hand out, she laughed, grabbing the gun that she had tucked in her pants at her back. “He’s got a good set of eyes on him. None of the other cops noticed, not even you Hank.” She twirled the gun in her hand so Hank could grab the handle and not the barrel, only proper etiquette. Her eyes traveled to the android standing beside them, his eyes still on her. She smiled before tilting her head to the side; all the while Hank was taking the bullets out of her gun for safety purposes. “What’s your name?” She asked.

He straightened up, seemingly excited to get that question; though she only assumed that was her reading into his movements. “My name is Connor. I am the android sent by CyberLife to assist Lieutenant Anderson in the string of Deviant cases that have been showing up.” That had her humming, nodding her head while still looking at him. He definitely looked top of the line, what with the perfection of his appearance. That, and how he had been able to scan her arm. Speaking of which, Hank was finished taking the bullets out of her gun and now was staring at said appendage. With a quick glance over at Gavin’s desk, making sure he was adequately immersed in his work, she took her sweat shirt off, leaving her in the tank top she had worn to bed. She then too of her glove to reveal her entire arm. 

While it obviously was not as high tech as Connor, it wasn’t a simple machine either. At the time, when she arrived back from Russia, it had been an experimental procedure that the CyberLife techs wanted to try out on a human subject. Being in the state she had been in, she quickly agreed; not really caring whether she herself lived or died. Though her mother and her sister were in shambles when they arrived to Detroit not knowing if their little girl would make it through the procedure. Though everything turned out fine; at least for the time being. She was thankful both of them had returned to Texas before strangers on the street started throwing words as well as items she didn’t really want to recall. For a while she had to carry a change of clothes with how dirty she got. Her saving grace was that she was still human; she just looked so different with the “augmentations” as CyberLife called them, she was just too close to an android that it made people uncomfortable.

She allowed Hank to take her hand as she started to explain. All the while, it was quite obvious that Connor wanted to get a closer look, perhaps out of simple curiosity on an intelligence gather basis, though he held himself back. “Those Russians really know how to make IED’s.” Hank flinched, nearly letting go of her hand, but held strong which she was thankful for. No need for sympathy now, not after all the healing she had done. “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I lost my arm and when I was down one of the Russians thought it would be a good idea to rub salt in the wounds and shot me in the head.” Her flesh hand reached up and touched the chunk of metal covering her head. “I, for a reason that has still alluded me, caught CyberLife’s attention. They extended a “helping hand”, one thing led to another, and now I got a cool arm.” She shrugged, glancing up at Connor to include him in the conversation; though all she got was a blank stare. Not that it surprised her. But she wasn’t just going to act like he was a piece of furniture or a walking computer. He looked like a human, talked like a human, acted like a human; there was no reason to not include him.

Plus, “You are right though Connor,” he seemed to straighten a touch more at the praise and recognition. “The blue blood acts as something of a cross between oil to keep up the maintenance and a power system to keep the cooling in affect. If I don’t have it daily, the arm would heat up so much it would cause permanent damage to my skin where it is connected,” she moved the tank top to show the jagged scars. Hank did in fact flinch this time and she couldn’t blame him. They were pretty damn ugly. “The damage would be mainly burns. It could reach sixth degree burns if it gets out of hand; though that would only occur if I didn’t get blue blood for over a week. I’m in no danger right now.” Hank seemed to relax at that, and even it seemed like Connor did as well. Perhaps all androids were equipped with that protocol to keep humans safe. That still seemed so odd to her. Of course the designers would want that, but well…humans were scrappy. Androids already had to do so much, why keep humans safe as well. No matter. She could save those philosophical discussions for when she was staring at the ceiling in her bedroom at 3 in the morning.

“So that is why you had blue blood in your house.” Hank finished her story, leaning back in his chair as she nodded. “And that’s why you have…” He trailed off, waiving his hand at her face and arm and she thanked the gods for Hank. He was just as brunt and straight forwards as she remembered and she needed that like water in the middle of the desert. So many people tried to dance around so many different subjects, especially ones pertaining to androids or any sort of robotics. So much floundering for such a silly subject. 

“Yep. So how about I give you that statement so I can get back to Rosie. She gets worried for me and I would prefer if she didn’t pee on my rugs again.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I was about to go on vacation and all I could think of was, "I really like writing for D:BH, so I'm just gonna fucking write this chapter."

She tugged her sweat shirt on before standing, more and more officers filing into the station as the sun rose. Or well, it became lighter outside the windows. It was raining, which wasn’t all that shocking. Detroit was right in the middle of that season where it rarely got sun. She just sighed. There wasn’t much in helping that. So instead she just straightened her shirt, patting off invisible dust before turning back to Hank. He was typing at his computer and Connor had taken a seat at the desk connected to Hank’s. She couldn’t help it, watching him work. The nature of computers allowed her to see the speed at which he scrolled through androids files. It was incredible, just a blur of words and colors. Though she suspected that was normal for most androids of his station; that being able to process information at light speed. However she couldn’t just sit around and watch Connor work all day, though it was interesting enough to do so.

“Can I have my gun back Hank? I gotta go back to my house, feed Rosie and clean up the blood. Plus I have to go to a CyberLife store and then I have to go to Lowes and get a sheet of glass to fix my window for the time being.” God she really was going to be busy that day. Damn. Either way, the older Lieutenant was broken out of his thoughts at her words and turned, nodding as he grabbed her gun. However he paused, glancing in Connor’s direction. The android didn’t stop filing through the android’s profiles probably sent over by CyberLife if she were to guess their origins. He stared for a few more seconds before standing as well.

“You haven’t cleaned up the blood, so I think it would be best if we took a look at it.” He started, tugging his jacket on while also grabbing his own department issued guns. That got Connor’s attention. He blinked, the LED on the side of his head spinning but not changing colors. He waited until Hank was finished getting ready before standing as well, the computer screen going black as he did so. All the while, she just watched, twitching. Not that she didn’t want the company, it was just that she had a bunch of things to do that day. Now she had to wait for them to finish looking at the “crime scene” before she could go get all she needed.

Though she wasn’t going to wait for one thing. Her now gloved metal hand grabbed Hank’s shoulder. He flinched, but it was small enough that if she didn’t have said metal hand, she wouldn’t have felt it. Connor stood, watching and observing, taking in as much information as he could. “Hank. My gun.”

“Oh yeah.” Finally he placed it in her outstretched palm and she preceded to tuck it into the back of her pants. She felt Connor’s information gathering eyes on her the entire time, even as she turned to head out of the station. The only explanation would be her strange “accessories”, let us say. It probably was not everyday an android saw things like her arm and eye. Most humans in Detroit had never seen anything like her. From what she understood, she was probably the only person CyberLife had ever done this to. It was still considered an experimental procedure; with how much it involved connecting to nerves among other things. One of the only reasons she even accepted in the first place was that she would have died without the metal now attached to her person. 

She gave Hank her address then turned to get into her car. The drive back was quicker than she thought it would be considering how many people were now out and about. Hank and Connor arrived soon after she parked in her drive way, Hank’s old clunker nearly sputtering and smoking in the Detroit rain. “Follow me.” She said, the two of them doing just that as she entered the house. Rosie came bounding over, though when she spotted the two men, she froze; quite clearly taking them in and judging if they were friend or foe.” Don’t worry girl, these two are ok.” After getting affirmation from her owner, Rosie gave an expression that could only be considered a human nod before turning into the kitchen. “Oh shit. Wait one second, I need to feed Rosie and then I can take you to my studio.” She turned into the kitchen. Behind her, she could hear Hank and Connor stop at the doorway. “I would offer you something Hank, but I know you don’t want any of the beverages that I have.” It was a jab, but it was also honest. One of the things she had to change about her life was her diet. That perhaps was the hardest thing. With her new arm, she had to eat healthy; quite the contradiction to what she grew up with in Texas. 

As she poured food into Rosie’s dish and refreshed the dogs water bowl, her eyes flickered to Connor who was looking around the room. Cataloguing different things about it, she suspected. “I would offer you blue blood Connor, but as you already know the only blue blood I had in the house was stolen.” Those soft brown eyes switched to her form right as she turned away. They did not move from her even as she finished up in the kitchen and led the pair through the house to her studio. Hank and Connor both kept their comments to themselves which she was happy about. Not that Connor would have a reason to comment on her switch in careers, but that was neither here nor that. Either way, they quickly got to work. Connor fluttered around, taking note of each thing in the room; each sheet of paper that the android may have touched to the trunk and beyond. Hank made his way to the window, taking in the shattered glass and looking out onto the lawn where the rest of the previously in tack window was.

The thing about blue blood was that regular water wouldn’t wash it away. That’s why it was still splattered on the grass where it had been that morning. “You need any help with the window? I could help you out if you needed me to.” He said, motioning towards the shattered glass as he spoke. But she just shook her head, flicking a smaller piece with her metal finger. The dinging noise echoed against the sound of the rain as it flicked out into the yard.

“It is all good. But thank you though. That is kind of you Hank.” Before she could turn and walk away, a firm chest pressed against her back. She blinked, turning her head slightly as an arm came into her limited peripheral vision. Connor reached out and brushed the now dry blue blood on the wall. Hank made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat, but she turned fully when he brought his hand back to his face. Amazed, she watched as he stuck the tips of his fingers into his mouth. Then his eyes flickered for a moment, the LED light spinning. “What?” 

That was all she got out before Hank explained and Connor took a step back, putting space between the two of them. “He has processors in his mouth that analyze data in real time.” It seemed like Connor wanted to add on, but he was still processing the blue blood. “Just gross that he has them in his mouth. What the fuck was CyberLife thinking?”

“What? That’s incredible!” She shouted, waiting for Connor to finish. Hank made a choking noise at her exclamation, causing her to turn and look at the older man. “Are you kidding me? That would have been so helpful when I was on the force. Not only that, but when I was in Russia, this would have come in handy on so many different occasions.” She turned back to Connor who was now staring at her, a strange look in his eyes. If he were human she would have called that look surprise. Though perhaps androids could feel shock as well. It made her want to read up on them, see what they could truly display. Though perhaps that changed from model to model and from purpose to purpose. Connor blinked for another second, obvserving her clasped hands and the excited look on her face. 

“My analysis is complete. This blue blood belongs to android #4453K3LMI339. It is owned by Elizabeth Andrews who just recently picked it up from the CyberLife store on the east side of town. There was no report on it missing so it would be advisable to check in with Ms. Andrews before we move forwards in our investigation.” She was in complete and utter awe of Connor. While she had some experience with androids in the past, she had never seen one like him. How incredible!

The thing about androids were that they were human, just with a faster brain. People seemed to forget that humans had computers within them as well; in the form of the brain. Androids computers just worked a little faster. Plus they could do incredible things like processing evidence on site. She couldn’t help but watch Connor as she showed them out of the house after making sure she could clean up the blue blood. She walked the pair out to Hank’s car, standing in the rain that had let up some; only a light drizzle now. Her eyes trailed over Connor, how sleek and presentable was. Everything was perfect, only the small bit of hair on his forehead calculated with how it sat out of place. “My offer still stands on helping with the window.” Hank’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. Connor was already sitting in the car and she realized she was in fact standing beside Hank. “I had no idea you were back in Detroit. I had thought that when you got back from Russia that you went back to Texas with your mother and sister. I’m glad you are here though.” He finished, nearly sounding out of breath as he looked away in an attempt to seem less invested in the conversation than he was. 

She couldn’t help but laugh at that. Of course he was trying to maintain the disheveled grump thing. It was refreshing. “Thank you Hank. That is very kind, and I’ll keep that in mind. My phone number is same by the way, if you want to keep in contact.” Hank nodded, giving her a quick small smile before slipping into the car. He allowed her to cross in front to get back onto her front lawn before starting the car and driving off down the street.

~’~

“Lieutenant, may I ask you a personal question?” Connor’s quite voice echoed in the car. The only other sound that could be heard was the rain pitter pattering on the roof of the car. Though his question was followed by a deep groan and a sigh. They were currently stopped at the light down the street from the woman’s house. 

“I won’t be able to get out of this so what?” The Lieutenant answered, his finger tapping on the steering wheel. Connor’s eyes watched the movement, noting that it was probably from a with drawl; the Lieutenant obviously in a wanting state for alcohol. Those his blood pressure was a little high, he was not in any sort of danger. Connor assumed the heightened blood pressure was from the with drawl as well.

“Who was that woman?” The Lieutenant repeated her name quietly in the car and Connor filed it away within the boxes of the case pertaining to the deviants he was hunting. Perhaps he was curious as to who she was though, because the Lieutenant was obviously familiar. The way he seemed to relax around her was nothing Connor had witnessed as of yet considering he had only known the Lieutenant for two days.

The Lieutenant hummed for a moment, allowing the sound of the rain to cover it up after a few seconds. “She came and went through the DPD a while back. She was fast tracked because of her physical abilities and how sharp a shooter she was. Then she was put into the military and only went up and up from there. Before I knew it, I heard through the office gossip that she had joined the FBI and was sent over seas to Russia.” Connor listened, staring at the Lieutenant as he did so. He easily took in the story and continued to study the older man’s physical reactions. It was quite obvious that Hank cared for her; to what capacity, Connor did not know yet. But the Lieutenant tried to cover up his affection through a tough exterior. The Lieutenant possibly did not wish to show a weakness therefore he tried to make it seem as though he had none. 

“Thought she was dead to be frank.” He said, continuing to drive when the light turned green. Connor quickly glanced around through the windows to the exterior of the car; just a routine sweep of his surroundings. The trip to the east side of the city would take a while. “Pretty surprised when she showed up.”

There was another question at the tip of Connor’s tongue, but he just didn’t know how to word it. He didn’t know if he should even ask the question as he stared at the Lieutenant. The older man glanced at Connor. “What the fuck are you looking at? You got something else to say? You might as well spit it out. We will be in here for a while.” He finished, turning his blinker on. 

The processor in Connor’s mind hummed before he spoke. “Her reaction to my ‘abilities’ was not what I was expecting. The average consensus among Detroit citizens as of two weeks ago was that androids were not to be trusted and that many wished for androids to be discontinued. Her excitement,” Yes, that was the correct word Connor was looking for. “was not something I would have come to expect.”

The Lieutenant hummed again, obviously not truly in a mood to talk but as he himself said, they were going to be in the car for a while; might as well discuss things pertaining to the case. She was pertaining to the case after all. “She has always been a little different. I don’t know what happened in Russia, but things changed. People change Connor.” The Lieutenant did not flinch at his word choice; probably not realizing the connotation the android could pull from it. People change. That meant she changed. And he wouldn’t, Connor wouldn’t. The Lieutenant made it obvious his dislike for androids so he obviously didn’t count Connor as a person. Not that Connor minded or really cared. The feelings of the Lieutenant were not particularly important to solving the case of the deviants popping up across the city. It would be more efficient for Connor if the Lieutenant was agreeable with him, but that was neither here nor there.

“I see.” Connor said when the Lieutenant quieted down for a moment. Though he did pick up again, which was a little surprising to Connor. 

“She never really wanted to hurt anyone, just wanted to get her job done and do it well. I suspect she would have done well as a doctor, not a solider or a fighter. A healing role would have suited her well.” Connor could not tell if that was meant as a compliment for her or not, so he did not press further. Instead he thought back to her home. It was cozy in the sense that someone lived there; but not much else. There had been minimal decorations on the walls that most humans often adorned their homes with, things like paintings, pictures, or sculptures. Her kitchen had been clean, just a single coffee mug and a glass of water on the counter.

Perhaps the most lived in space, at least from what he had been able to see, was the art studio the break in had occurred in. There was paint splattered everywhere, bits of chalk among other artistic instruments strewn about. That room contained the few pieces of personal decorations. When she and the Lieutenant had been speaking, he spotted it on the opposite wall hanging over a desk he presumed was used to create the art.

It had been a relatively small framed photo. He could recognize her even with two eyes considering he had scanned her face when she was still in the station. Reconstructing the part of her head that had been blown off with a weapon was easy within his minds eye. She was smiling in the picture, her arm thrown over another woman’s shoulders. Both had been dressed in fatigues, obviously from when she had been in the military; before she entered the FBI and after she left the police department. The other woman had been smiling as well.

Well. Connor put that all in the box in his mind that was now labeled with her name in neat font. He would look at it all again if it was necessary.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Sorry I didn't update sooner. I was in Mexico for a while and then came back and was just doing about twenty different things.

The trip down to Detroit’s central shopping center was a shorter walk then she previously remembered. Perhaps it was because it was such a nice day; and she usually had to drive through noxious traffic. That probably had to do a lot with it. That, or she just loved the coloring of fall. She loved how the leaves turned red and orange and yellow; and how the light from the sun played delicately off each branch. At one point in her life she would have just walked past it all, not giving the park where the children were playing and the families gathered a second glance. However now she always walked through. It was nearly religious when she walked to the store. After nearly dying from that IED in Russia, taking in the laughter of children and their families was something she wouldn’t look past. 

Though walking out of the laughter and playful air of the park was a different story. The shopping center was bustling with life and energy; something different yet so similar to the park. She couldn’t help but smile at the people going in and out of the stores while also window shopping on the way to her true destination. It was a good thing that she already stopped by the CyberLife store the previous day, though there was one in the area that she could have dropped into. 

While the crowd was busy, she was able to make her way down the equally bustling alleyway and into the paint supply store. More often than not, when she came to get new paints or any other supplies, no one would be in there. However she was not alone this time. She could not help but blink in surprise when she spotted someone standing in front of her at the counter. Well, not just anyone. The immediate reaction of her walking in ticked off a bell in her head. It was an android. Most humans could not turn that quickly. 

Not just any android either. “Markus!” She exclaimed, excited to have run into the android. He quickly finished the transaction with the android behind the counter before turning back to her. Considering she knew him well, he only stiffened slightly when she wrapped him in her arms. Most androids were not all that tall, and he was included in that group. She practically towered over him. “How are you doing?” It was an immediate reaction, something that she asked everyone; androids included. Of course, she was not stupid. She knew that they could not truthfully answer that question. The wiring avoided such interactions. Yet they interacted so much that he seemed to have acclimated to her odd questions. 

When Markus pulled away, something that could be considered a smile formed on his face. “I am doing well. Are you picking up some paints?” She nodded. 

“Yeah. Let me grab them real fast and then we can walk to the bus station together.” There was a part of her that just wanted to catch up with Markus, that being the reason why she would walk with him to the bus station when she herself could easily walk home. Yet there was an underlying reason that both her, Markus, and the android behind the counter could easily see; but none of them brought it up. 

The protest against Androids had been picking up in steam and in intensity. She heard news every other day of androids being practically ripped apart in the streets. If she were to walk beside Markus, perhaps any protestors would simply think he was her android. That tended to ward of people, knowing they would have to pay back the exorbitant repair prices. Either way she finished up her purchase and turned, following Markus out of the store and back towards the square. At first, they just chatted, talking about the weather and any other light news, making sure to steer away from politics or the impending war over seas. 

However their short stint of peace was quickly shattered. She was the first to notice the loud, rather anti android shouts. And the only way to get to the bus station was to walk right by them. She could only sigh as she tugged Markus closer, the android taking note and his LED light spinning yellow for a brief moment before settling back down onto blue. 

The lead protestor was apparently looking for confrontation though. He noticed Markus glancing at their group for a second longer than normal and stormed over. She tried to pull Markus away, to put herself between the two, but the android was heavier than she remembered. “What the fuck are you doing here android?” The man’s voice was venomous, eyes only for Markus as he spat out his words. 

It seemed as though these protestors, who were now menacingly walking towards her and Markus, did not understand the coding and “biology” of androids. They were not meant to hurt humans, it was actually antithesis to their programing. So even as they began to taunt and poke at Markus, the android did nothing. That in turn obviously angered the protestors more, which caused them to then push Markus down onto the ground. His package of paints dropped to the ground like a box of rocks and she went into action. Apparently these unemployed idiots really knew nothing about androids. They wouldn’t be able to afford the damages done to Markus with the money they had left in their bank accounts. 

She stormed forwards and grabbed the fist mans wrist since he was about to swing it down onto Markus. Apparently she had been completely invisible up until that point because the man spun around as though he was being attacked by a ghost. When he spotted the metal on her face and felt the metal grip around his wrist, his face turned into a wicked grin. “Oh? What the fuck are you? Trying to act like an android so you won’t lose your job? Or do you just want to fuck them? An android whore?” The groups attention seemed to switch to her, but she knew she could fight back. She had not been programmed to stand down. 

Though she was not programmed with 360 degree senses either. One of the protestors she had lost sight of came behind her right as she raised her fist to clock the first man in the face. They swung something hard, probably a metal bat, right onto the side of her right knee. The pain shot up through her body like lightening as she collapsed to the ground. A swift kick to her face had her rolling to her side, coughing up blood. Then the bat came down again on her knee and she screamed. 

Her scream, however, was accompanied by shocked voices of protestors. Where they had been expecting a compound fracture from her shin bone; wires and metal pierced her pant leg instead. She groaned, rolling onto all fours and her dog tags slipped from underneath her shirt, dangling in front of her. 

Like a blessing, she heard the shouts of a beat cop running over to them. He helped Markus first and then spotted her. “You all really are fools aren’t you.” He stumbled for a moment when he spotted the metal parts of her body, but when he saw the dog tags, picked up where he had left off. “Beating up a vet. Because you don’t like her prosthetics? And not to mention the android. You break it you buy it. I doubt you all have the money.” Instead of listen to the end of that conversation, she allowed Markus to lead her away towards the bus station. 

“Should I call you a car?” He asked, obviously referring to her now fucked up leg and bruises that would inevitably appear on her face. She was quiet though, staring at the paint boxes tucked under his other arm. He had picked hers up at some point. 

A shake of her head started her response. “No. I just…can I swing home with you? I would like to visit Carl.” 

“That is not up for me to decided. But I am sure he would like to see you.”

~’~

By the time she rolled her pant leg up and was working on the shattered ball joint with the tools Markus had brought her, Carl was being wheeled into the living room. He spotted her, the smile that had been on his face faltering. “Markus said there was a problem, but he didn’t tell me how bad it was; probably didn’t want to worry me.” He said, glancing back towards Markus with a cheeky smirk before looking back over her. Her hair that had been pinned up was curled around her face, partially hiding the blossoming bruise from the boot to the face she took. The metal plate that covered her left eye was aching around the edges. It wasn’t like it was meant to take a hit like that. Either way, Markus rolled Carl right up to where she was. 

“Ugh, yeah haha.” She laughed, a dry thing as she continued to fix the fucked up joint. It was silent within the room before she spoke up again. “Markus was not doing anything. We were just walking together and the protestors jumped on him. I could not stand seeing anyone get hurt, could not stand seeing Markus get hurt.” 

Carl’s wrinkled hand grabbing hers caused her to pause and look up. “Thank you, for protecting Markus. He would not have fought back even if they pulled out his chest processor.” All she could do was nod, tightening up another screw before he spoke again. “Am I still the only one that knows of this addition?” His voice was quiet. 

And there was a part of her that was mad at the older man. He was so perceptive, catching onto each and every little thing. Feeling like a scolded child with their hand in the cookie jar, she sighed, putting the wrench down. “Yes.” And it had been horrible, losing her leg as well. At first when she came back, they only replaced her arm and fixed her head. They had not caught the shrapnel from the IED that had impaled itself in the tissue and bone of her legs; all up and down it. Slowly, she developed a limp, not really feeling pain at first. However it quickly devolved from there. Pain would keep her up every day and every night. Her leg started to turn grey and green, obviously dying from the inside out. And finally, she could not even walk. At that point, she knew she had to go back to CyberLife. They were more than willing to give her a new leg, being the guinea pig and all. And considering the arm and new piece of her skull had kept her alive, she was more than willing to allow them a go at another piece of her body. 

Honestly, she never told her mother or her sister because while they were not like the fanatics at the square earlier, she just didn’t’ know how they would react. It was the uncertainty of it all that kept her lips sealed. 

“Why are you crying?” Carl’s voice had her blinking through tears she had no idea were even there. She glanced up, reaching with her human hand to touch her wet cheeks. Yep. She was crying. 

“I… I do not know.” Another pause. “I just, I went to Russia to fight for my country, to fight for the people so they could be free; so they could live the lives they wanted. And those people in the square. They are doing what I fought so hard to allow them to do, to protest and to express their opinions. But to hate others so vehemently? Why?” She rubbed her aching temples, wiping tears away. “And just because Markus doesn’t have red blood pumping through his veins, just because of that, people are justified in their beating of him? They are justified to kill him and not be prosecuted?” 

Carl’s hand reached over and pressed against her metal knee. “They hurt you as well.” 

But she just shook her head. “I know. But that I can deal with. They hurt Markus just because he is different then them. I didn’t lose my limbs for people to do that.”

~’~

Connor could not help but listen as a beat cop walked into the station, trailing beside another one; presumably the man’s partner. He focused on their voices while continuing to scroll through lists of androids recently sold in the downtown Detroit area. 

“Yeah. I had to break up a fight in the square. This vet was getting the shit kicked out of her.” Connor blinked. That was just too aligned. It was just too perfect. A female veteran getting beaten up for protecting an android? It could only be her. His eyes flickered to the Lieutenant who had turned to listen as well. His face was pinched in annoyance and concern. Annoyance that the cops were talking so loud in the middle of the day and concern for her wellbeing. 

Connor was about to ask about her, but a ping from the Lieutenants phone had them chasing after another lead, leaving her for another part of the day. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god all I can say is I am literally so sorry I haven't updated in so long. I just recently got off twitter and it is the best thing to have ever happened to me. I've update three fics in less than three days and twitter had just been sucking my soul away from me. Other updates; I graduated college in December! The theme for this chapter is Kara's theme from the game. And honestly I was thinking about it and I kind of wanted the rest of this fic to take place post the "good ending/ no one dies/ pacifist" route.

It was not as though she wanted to go visit Kamski. Hell, the man always put a weird taste in her mouth; like the aura around him was off. She felt that way about the older man since meeting him coming back from Russia. Alas, Kamski was also the man that augmented her defunct limbs in the first place. Yes it was possible to have CyberLife employees fix her up; however the old CEO had specifically requested that she go to see him when the need arose. 

She hated to admit it, but she was in need of his expertise now. Those men in the square had fucked her leg up pretty good. 

_____ drove up and parked outside of Kamski’s obscenely expensive and beautiful estate. It looked over the lake and on such a frigid day as this, she could barely see the water below. “Damn.” She whispered under her breath before getting out of her car and walking up the ramp to the front door. 

It only took one knock for the door to slide open and there stood a short blonde android. What had her name been? ______ wracked her mind but it had been quite some time since she last saw the petite woman standing before her. “Uh, hello.” Good, great start idiot, she muttered under her breath. The blonde woman just smiled and nodded. 

“Ms. _____. We were expecting you.” Yeah no shit. It had been Kamski that had called her; clearly indicating either the androids around her had been used for surveillance or it was some other electronic device. Either way, _____ followed her inside, the two of them passing through a rather beautiful waiting room, before _____ finally spoke up. 

“I’m sorry. I completely forgot your name.” 

“That is quite alright Ms. _____. My name is Chloe.” That was all the blonde woman said before turning back towards the sliding door. It opened for her and she guided _____ in to an indoor swimming pool. 

Of course Kamski would not have just any regular INDOOR swimming pool. _____ felt a visceral response in the bit of her stomach at the sight of the red water. It was just far too much like blood and she still often was kept up at night remembering what she had to do in Russia. “Chloe informed me that you had arrived.” 

’

Kamski’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. _____ looked over and spotted the older man pulling himself out of the swimming pool. “Yes. I apologize that I could not get here sooner. I was visiting with Carl.” Carl, one of Kamski’s close friends. He had actually created Markus as something of a gift towards the aging artists. 

And in that moment, as Kamski walked towards her, she could not help but wonder where the creator of the Androids stood in all of this. What side was he on? Had he taken a side? What were his plans? Why did he put what he did in the androids? There were just too many questions and far few answers. She almost felt like a disgruntled detective; and then her mind fluttered to Connor and Hank. Hmm, she wondered how they were doing. 

Kamski putting a soft hand upon her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts, blinking away the after images of the handsome elder cop and the cunning younger android detective. “I see so Markus’s information was correct.” That was how he knew. He must have gotten the video feed from Markus somehow; that or he just went in directly to retrieve it even without Markus knowing. That put a bad feeling in her stomach, that Kamski would just do as he pleased with his creations. Either way, she had also specifically worn a short sleeve shirt and forwent her gloves so he could help her out immediately. 

“Yes. Both my arm and my leg were caught up in the attack.” It was unfortunate and she honestly did not want to think about what happened again. Carl and Markus both helped her out so much and Kamski had the video feed. If he wanted to know something he could just look it up himself. 

“I see, you poor thing. Chloe.” Chloe helped _____ over to one of the two chairs resting against the window. One of the other Chloe’s had left the room only to return with a set of supplies that clearly Kamski was intending to use on _____’s limbs. She thanked the other Chloe who gave her a nod then turned back to the pool, gently slipping in without even making a single splash in the water. 

The genius CEO waited patiently as _____ stripped down to her underwear, giving him full access to her arm and leg.

To her surprise, it did not take Kamski quite as long as she thought it would. “You are lucky those protestors were far more ignorant than you or I,” He started, pressing a tiny heated welding gun to the metal plates at her elbow. It appeared as though he was finishing up with both limbs. “If they knew where to hit, the chances of you making it out of that altercation would have been slim to none, even with Markus.” Kamski said as he finally stood and started putting his materials away. 

_____ also stood and began to put her clothing back on. Surely ten years ago she would have been too nervous and shy to strip in front of Kamski. Yes he did have a strange aura about him; but she could not deny he was handsome. He was handsome, wealthy, intelligent; literally everything her mother always wanted for her. However after what she went through in Russia, there were very few things that tripped her up anymore. 

She sighed deeply. “I see.” _____ pulled her shirt over her head. Once her eyes were on Kamski again, she put her hand out to shake his. “Then I need to thank you either way, since I already did so with Markus. You gave me this second chance and have so generously offered to help me when needed. Thank you Elijah.” He turned towards her and grabbed her hand as well. At first he simply shook it, then he lifted her metal arm up and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her knuckles. 

“My research into human augmentation may not have officially gone anywhere with CyberLife, however you are still one of my crowning achievements outside of Chloe.” Well damn, she thought to herself, eyes widening slightly. That’s not what she had been expecting Kamski to say. He allowed her hand to fall from his grasp and rest against her side. “You will be the first one notified upon any further discovery I make into this subject.” 

_____ was speechless. Her mouth opened and closed for a moment which perfectly imitated a fish out of water; and greatly amused Kamski apparently. After a few seconds, her body caught up with her mind though she stayed silent. Instead, she opted to give him a curt nod before turning to leave. 

Get out.

Get out.

Get out.

Get out.

Her mind was racing a million miles a minute, not quite understanding what Kamski was meaning. Well she knew what he was saying, she just did not understand why he was saying such things. Her heart was in time with her thoughts as she ran out of the front waiting room and started down the ramp, giving a quick glance over her shoulder. 

And slamming right into a firm chest which had her spinning on the snowy slope into another even firmer chest. Two cold hands reached up and grabbed her upper arms, steadying her so she would not spin out once again. When her eyes flickered up in a panic, she was met with a familiar set of brown staring down at her. “Hello _____.” Connor said in that even tone; though there was something else there. She could not quite place it, but it almost sounded akin to confusion. No, perhaps inquisitiveness. There was a brief moment where she spotted his LED spinning yellow before it evened out into a soft blue once again. 

“Connor.” Her voice, god she sounded breathless like she just sprinted a mile and not forty feet. There was something in the back of her mind that screamed safe, told her she was ok with Connor and that she didn’t have to run anymore. It was the strangest sensation; and she was about to act on it and lean into his grasp when she heard her name from over her shoulder. 

______ turned and their Hank was standing with a very obviously confused look on his face. “What in the world is going on? What the fuck were you just doing at Kamski’s?” He asked, though he faded out at the end when spotting her arm. Of course the two of them would have probably gotten wind of what happened. They were police officers after all. Well Hank was. She did not see a badge on Connor’s hip; and she hoped she would soon. 

“Oh.” Hank mumbled under his breath as Connor finally released her arms. It was not as though he offended her so she simply shrugged. Also she was so thankful she felt as though she was coming back to herself. 

“It’s fine Hank… I think I’m just gonna…” She edged around Connor, losing her voice as she went. Though thankfully she had the will power to simply not look back; or she would have seen a far more expressive look on Connor’s face than the android probably would have wanted seen. 


End file.
